Reverse the Charges
Imani Files #19...Imani joins the black woman sisterhood
A few days ago, Taneshia and I were getting Imani and Naima ready for school. As the readying took place, I overheard Taneshia and Imani going through some meaningless banter. It began when Imani said her name was “Imani Fasarah Laird” and that her middle name was Fasarah. She then asked Taneshia what is her middle name. Taneshia responded in a lovingly motherly tone, “I don’t really have a middle name, so I use my maiden name, Nash, as my middle name”.
Of course this prompted Imani to ask the obvious “what’s a maiden name” question, which she did and to which Taneshia told her “a maiden name is your name before you get married”. Imani said she wanted a maiden name, and Taneshia told her, “you’ll have one when you get married.”
All was cool in the Laird household, then minutes later I heard Imani crying loudly. When I ran to see what was up and my heart jumped when I saw her laying on the steps motionless with the exception of the crying. “Imani, are you ok, did you fall on the steps”?, I asked.
“No”, Imani said, still sobbing, “I want to get married”!!!
Black women, see what a toll the pressure you put on yourselves to get married is taking! Save the babies!!!
What’s next? Imani complaining about the paucity of eligible black male toddlers.
DISCLAIMER: I hope this doesn’t offend any of the single ladies out there. It just cracked me up.
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Did She Just Say That?
In the June 30 Washington Post, Kathleen Parker called President Obama our first "female President". Well, as my sistas say, "oh no she didn't".
Seriously, Parker thought she was being clever by using an approach similar to the one Toni Morrison took when she called Bill Clinton "the first black President". Morrison made sense, Parker is showing just how deep racism in this country cuts. Now I don't mean racism of the "I hate black people" variety, but racism in the sense that white people are still ignorant to the depth of the Black experience.
Parker compares Obama's measured, passive approach to the feminine way of doing things. She obviously has no clue as to how a black man can rise through the ranks the way Obama did. For we black man to rise to the highest levels we can't shoot from the lip. We have to be calculating, or as the great James Brown put it so succinctly, "every trip, you gotta be hipper than hip".
Obama represents a style of black male leadership that lies in stark contrast to the white male leadership this country has become so accustomed to. It's a leadership that doesn't allow for mistakes that come from silly wild-ass guesses or overly emotional decisions. It's a leadership that knows that everyday you're behind the proverbial cross hairs and people are shooting to kill. A black man in a position of high authority simply doesn't have the luxuries that a white man does, yet rather than deal with that reality and speak to the strategies black male leaders like Kenneth Chenault or Barack Obama use to rise to the top, Parker goes out of her way to avoid talking about race and instead comes close to calling President Obama a woman, and tries to make it sound complimentary.
Years ago, a black man that looked like Obama could never have become President and was regularly called "boy" by white men. Today, a black man is the President, yet has to suffer being called "girl" by some white lady simply because he doesn't act like a jackass white man? That's some BS right there.
Seriously, Parker thought she was being clever by using an approach similar to the one Toni Morrison took when she called Bill Clinton "the first black President". Morrison made sense, Parker is showing just how deep racism in this country cuts. Now I don't mean racism of the "I hate black people" variety, but racism in the sense that white people are still ignorant to the depth of the Black experience.
Parker compares Obama's measured, passive approach to the feminine way of doing things. She obviously has no clue as to how a black man can rise through the ranks the way Obama did. For we black man to rise to the highest levels we can't shoot from the lip. We have to be calculating, or as the great James Brown put it so succinctly, "every trip, you gotta be hipper than hip".
Obama represents a style of black male leadership that lies in stark contrast to the white male leadership this country has become so accustomed to. It's a leadership that doesn't allow for mistakes that come from silly wild-ass guesses or overly emotional decisions. It's a leadership that knows that everyday you're behind the proverbial cross hairs and people are shooting to kill. A black man in a position of high authority simply doesn't have the luxuries that a white man does, yet rather than deal with that reality and speak to the strategies black male leaders like Kenneth Chenault or Barack Obama use to rise to the top, Parker goes out of her way to avoid talking about race and instead comes close to calling President Obama a woman, and tries to make it sound complimentary.
Years ago, a black man that looked like Obama could never have become President and was regularly called "boy" by white men. Today, a black man is the President, yet has to suffer being called "girl" by some white lady simply because he doesn't act like a jackass white man? That's some BS right there.
Now I know how white folks in Nebraska feel
I wanted the Lakers to win last night and they did, but with the exception of two Queens homeboys in Ron Artest and Lamar Odom, why would I, a certified pro black sports fan root for a team rocking a white guy from Spain, another from the Eastern bloc and Bill Walton's son.
But old habits are hard to break, and I remember the Lakers (and to a lesser degree Georgetown) being my only saving grace in the Reagan era. Led by Magic, Kareem, and Worthy, the Lakers stomped out those purveyors of white hegemony, Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics on the regular. Sure the Celtics had a black coach in KC Jones and some black players, but it was more like saying Stymie, Buckwheat and Farina were the major players in the Little Rascals. We weren't going for it, and when Magic and the boys vanquished Boston in Boston we had hope, that things would change for us--and they did.
In fact they changed so much the Celtics today are more like the Lakers of the 80s, while the Lakers are more like the Celtics of that era. I should have been able to root for the Celtics, but my own shortcomings prevented it.
I wonder if that's how some white folks in places like Nebraska felt about President Obama? "He seems cool, he stands for what I stand for, but dammit, it's messing with my mind too much to support him".
Fortunately a lot of white folks that were able to overcome their hangups.
Maybe next year, I can learn from my open-minded white sisters and brothers and root for the Celtics. Then again, maybe I'll wait to 2012 to see if President Obama is re-elected!
But old habits are hard to break, and I remember the Lakers (and to a lesser degree Georgetown) being my only saving grace in the Reagan era. Led by Magic, Kareem, and Worthy, the Lakers stomped out those purveyors of white hegemony, Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics on the regular. Sure the Celtics had a black coach in KC Jones and some black players, but it was more like saying Stymie, Buckwheat and Farina were the major players in the Little Rascals. We weren't going for it, and when Magic and the boys vanquished Boston in Boston we had hope, that things would change for us--and they did.
In fact they changed so much the Celtics today are more like the Lakers of the 80s, while the Lakers are more like the Celtics of that era. I should have been able to root for the Celtics, but my own shortcomings prevented it.
I wonder if that's how some white folks in places like Nebraska felt about President Obama? "He seems cool, he stands for what I stand for, but dammit, it's messing with my mind too much to support him".
Fortunately a lot of white folks that were able to overcome their hangups.
Maybe next year, I can learn from my open-minded white sisters and brothers and root for the Celtics. Then again, maybe I'll wait to 2012 to see if President Obama is re-elected!
Trenton and Water
Man, I can't believe I haven't made a blog entry in 3 months! As everybody knows, my campaign for North Ward City Council ended in defeat, but I felt good about my effort. However, I doubt I ever run for political office again.
That said, I enjoyed it, and I know that the campaign has made me a better person and citizen.
During the campaign one of the issues that came up was whether or not Trenton should sell components of its water system infrastructure. After serious contemplation, I think I'm going to vote yes on the deal. But I'm not trying to convince people to vote yes. I just want people to vote what they think is right. That's how it works.
What is really bothering me is the way the remaining candidates are handling. As I said, the water deal is now going to be voted on by the citizens of Trenton. This is a good thing, unfortunately many of the candidates are hung up on what they think the vote should be. Now, I don't deny them their right to voice their opinion, but these people are preparing to lead our city for the next four years, they should be preparing themselves to deal with whatever outcome the vote determines.
Instead of telling us about not selling assets and mismanagement, tell us what you think the impact will be if a yes vote is passed, and tell us what you think the impact will be if a no vote is passed. Tell us how you plan to handle the issue of property taxes once the county orders Trenton to do a reassessment. Using the water deal as a jumping off point, tell us your plans to bring revenue to the city to lessen the tax levy. This is what prepared leadership is all about--being able to deal no matter what the outcome of a given event.
One of James Brown's great phrases was "every trip, you gotta be hipper than hip". Right now our candidates are giving us a little too much lip, and not enough hip.
That said, I enjoyed it, and I know that the campaign has made me a better person and citizen.
During the campaign one of the issues that came up was whether or not Trenton should sell components of its water system infrastructure. After serious contemplation, I think I'm going to vote yes on the deal. But I'm not trying to convince people to vote yes. I just want people to vote what they think is right. That's how it works.
What is really bothering me is the way the remaining candidates are handling. As I said, the water deal is now going to be voted on by the citizens of Trenton. This is a good thing, unfortunately many of the candidates are hung up on what they think the vote should be. Now, I don't deny them their right to voice their opinion, but these people are preparing to lead our city for the next four years, they should be preparing themselves to deal with whatever outcome the vote determines.
Instead of telling us about not selling assets and mismanagement, tell us what you think the impact will be if a yes vote is passed, and tell us what you think the impact will be if a no vote is passed. Tell us how you plan to handle the issue of property taxes once the county orders Trenton to do a reassessment. Using the water deal as a jumping off point, tell us your plans to bring revenue to the city to lessen the tax levy. This is what prepared leadership is all about--being able to deal no matter what the outcome of a given event.
One of James Brown's great phrases was "every trip, you gotta be hipper than hip". Right now our candidates are giving us a little too much lip, and not enough hip.
Imani Files #18 ...Pleasures Of Potty Training
With being on the grind to get MIST off the ground, my fledgling political campaign, and my writing career, I've been a bit derelict on the blog tip. In particular The Imani Files. I try to do it on Thursday, but I'm going to have to do it when I can. This one is too good to wait.
Last night Imani, her Uncle Hayward, and I went to the Sixers-Knicks game. I used to not want to take Imani to games without Taneshia, because she's too old to have to go potty in the men's room. Fortunately somebody hipped me to the family bathroom, and since then its been all good.
So last night after downing a hot dog, a pretzel, a water ice, and some cotton candy, Imani lets me know she has to go potty. She's pretty good about letting me know in public so, the three minute walk to the family bathroom was uneventful. The door is locked. We knock on it. "Just a minute", says the female voice from the other side of the door. Four or so minutes pass. Now Imani says, "Daddy I really have to go". I'm not quite stressed, but I'm annoyed. I hate when people take their own sweet time in public bathrooms. Another two minutes pass, and the door starts to creak open. A woman and A MAN, come out of the bathroom. Though the bathroom is reasonably clean, how foul can two grown people with enough money to pay for basketball tickets be? I mean who voluntarily does the deed in a bathroom at a basketball game?
Anyway, as the two horny little devils walk out of the family bathroom, Imani says to me, "Daddy, why does that big girl need that man to help her go potty"?
Last night Imani, her Uncle Hayward, and I went to the Sixers-Knicks game. I used to not want to take Imani to games without Taneshia, because she's too old to have to go potty in the men's room. Fortunately somebody hipped me to the family bathroom, and since then its been all good.
So last night after downing a hot dog, a pretzel, a water ice, and some cotton candy, Imani lets me know she has to go potty. She's pretty good about letting me know in public so, the three minute walk to the family bathroom was uneventful. The door is locked. We knock on it. "Just a minute", says the female voice from the other side of the door. Four or so minutes pass. Now Imani says, "Daddy I really have to go". I'm not quite stressed, but I'm annoyed. I hate when people take their own sweet time in public bathrooms. Another two minutes pass, and the door starts to creak open. A woman and A MAN, come out of the bathroom. Though the bathroom is reasonably clean, how foul can two grown people with enough money to pay for basketball tickets be? I mean who voluntarily does the deed in a bathroom at a basketball game?
Anyway, as the two horny little devils walk out of the family bathroom, Imani says to me, "Daddy, why does that big girl need that man to help her go potty"?
